The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

A condensed guide to life from the bestselling author of "The Black Swan", Nassim Nicholas Taleb's "The Bed of Procrustes" is an invaluable collection of aphorisms navigate the modern world. Why are we so often unwilling to accept that life is unpredictable? In this brilliant book Nassim Nicholas Taleb distils his idiosyncratic wisdom to demolish our illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance and erudition against modern philistinism and phoniness. Only by accepting what we don't know, he shows, can we see the world as it really is. "Happily provocative ...blistering ...his observations concern superiority, wealth, suckerdom, academia, modernity, technology and the all-purpose, ignorant "they" ...very quotable". ("The New York Times"). "A master philosopher". ("The Times"). "Taleb's crystalline nuggets of thought stand alone like esoteric poems". ("Financial Times"). "Opinionated and witty...It showcases his wit and learning, and provides ways to fillet his enemies". ("Independent on Sunday"). Nassim Nicholas Taleb spends most of his time as a flaneur, meditating in cafes across the planet. A former trader, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University. He is the author of "Fooled by Randomness" and "The Black Swan", an international bestseller which has become an intellectual, social, and cultural touchstone.

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Review:

Bestselling author Nassim Nicholas Taleb continues his exploration of randomness in his fascinating new book, The Black Swan, in which he examines the influence of highly improbable and unpredictable events that have massive impact. Engaging and enlightening, The Black Swan is a book that may change the way you think about the world, a book that Chris Anderson calls, "a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature." See Anderson's entire guest review below.

Guest Reviewer: Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and the author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More.

Four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon warned that our minds are wired to deceive us. "Beware the fallacies into which undisciplined thinkers most easily fall--they are the real distorting prisms of human nature." Chief among them: "Assuming more order than exists in chaotic nature." Now consider the typical stock market report: "Today investors bid shares down out of concern over Iranian oil production." Sigh. We're still doing it.

Our brains are wired for narrative, not statistical uncertainty. And so we tell ourselves simple stories to explain complex thing we don't--and, most importantly, can't--know. The truth is that we have no idea why stock markets go up or down on any given day, and whatever reason we give is sure to be grossly simplified, if not flat out wrong.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb first made this argument in Fooled by Randomness, an engaging look at the history and reasons for our predilection for self-deception when it comes to statistics. Now, in The Black Swan: the Impact of the Highly Improbable, he focuses on that most dismal of sciences, predicting the future. Forecasting is not just at the heart of Wall Street, but it’s something each of us does every time we make an insurance payment or strap on a seat belt.

The problem, Nassim explains, is that we place too much weight on the odds that past events will repeat (diligently trying to follow the path of the "millionaire next door," when unrepeatable chance is a better explanation). Instead, the really important events are rare and unpredictable. He calls them Black Swans, which is a reference to a 17th century philosophical thought experiment. In Europe all anyone had ever seen were white swans; indeed, "all swans are white" had long been used as the standard example of a scientific truth. So what was the chance of seeing a black one? Impossible to calculate, or at least they were until 1697, when explorers found Cygnus atratus in Australia.

Nassim argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalizable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but it's practically useless. September 11th is one such example, and stock market crashes are another. Or, as he puts it, "History does not crawl, it jumps." Our assumptions grow out of the bell-curve predictability of what he calls "Mediocristan," while our world is really shaped by the wild powerlaw swings of "Extremistan."

In full disclosure, I'm a long admirer of Taleb's work and a few of my comments on drafts found their way into the book. I, too, look at the world through the powerlaw lens, and I too find that it reveals how many of our assumptions are wrong. But Taleb takes this to a new level with a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature. --Chris Anderson

About the Author:

Nassim Nicholas Taleb spends most of his time as a flaneur, meditating in cafes across the planet. A former trader, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University. His books Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan have been published in thirty-one languages.

Book Description Penguin Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2008. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Trade Paperback. 208 x 128 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. A condensed guide to life from the bestselling author of The Black Swan , Nassim Nicholas Taleb s The Bed of Procrustes is an invaluable collection of aphorisms navigate the modern world. Why are we so often unwilling to accept that life is unpredictable? In this brilliant book Nassim Nicholas Taleb distils his idiosyncratic wisdom to demolish our illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance and erudition against modern philistinism and phoniness. Only by accepting what we don t know, he shows, can we see the world as it really is. Happily provocative .blistering .his observations concern superiority, wealth, suckerdom, academia, modernity, technology and the all-purpose, ignorant they .very quotable . ( The New York Times ). A master philosopher . ( The Times ). Taleb s crystalline nuggets of thought stand alone like esoteric poems . ( Financial Times ). Opinionated and witty.It showcases his wit and learning, and provides ways to fillet his enemies . ( Independent on Sunday ). Nassim Nicholas Taleb spends most of his time as a flaneur, meditating in cafes across the planet. A former trader, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University. He is the author of Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan , an international bestseller which has become an intellectual, social, and cultural touchstone. Bookseller Inventory # AAU9780141034591

Book Description Penguin Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2008. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Trade Paperback. 208 x 128 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. A condensed guide to life from the bestselling author of The Black Swan , Nassim Nicholas Taleb s The Bed of Procrustes is an invaluable collection of aphorisms navigate the modern world. Why are we so often unwilling to accept that life is unpredictable? In this brilliant book Nassim Nicholas Taleb distils his idiosyncratic wisdom to demolish our illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance and erudition against modern philistinism and phoniness. Only by accepting what we don t know, he shows, can we see the world as it really is. Happily provocative .blistering .his observations concern superiority, wealth, suckerdom, academia, modernity, technology and the all-purpose, ignorant they .very quotable . ( The New York Times ). A master philosopher . ( The Times ). Taleb s crystalline nuggets of thought stand alone like esoteric poems . ( Financial Times ). Opinionated and witty.It showcases his wit and learning, and provides ways to fillet his enemies . ( Independent on Sunday ). Nassim Nicholas Taleb spends most of his time as a flaneur, meditating in cafes across the planet. A former trader, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University. He is the author of Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan , an international bestseller which has become an intellectual, social, and cultural touchstone. Bookseller Inventory # AAU9780141034591

Book Description 2008. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 129mm x 198mm x 27mm. Paperback. A condensed guide to life from the bestselling author of The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Bed of Procrustes is an invaluable collection of aphorisms navigate the modern world. W.Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. 480 pages. 0.200. Bookseller Inventory # 9780141034591

Book Description Penguin 2011-07-07, 2011. Book Condition: New. Brand new book, sourced directly from publisher. Dispatch time is 24-48 hours from our warehouse. Book will be sent in robust, secure packaging to ensure it reaches you securely. Bookseller Inventory # NU-BER-00025920